Taking a "Fart Walk" after dinner can be good for your health

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/04/11/taking-a-fart-walk-after-dinner-can-be-good-for-your-health.html

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I’m walking right now.

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That says that walking after a meal is good, but it doesn’t support the specific claim that this will “help reduce the risk of diabetes by getting all that gas out of your system.” And we shouldn’t expect it to, because diabetes has nothing to do with trapped gas, and is all about insulin and blood sugar levels.

This sort of woo seems harmless enough when all it’s promoting is taking a nice walk after a meal, but this sort of magical thinking that ignores underlying medical reality is exactly the sort of thing that leads to people ignoring real medical advice.

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Is that because your SO might consider murder if you do too many in the house?

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Yeah, I think unfortunately @thomdunn somehow missed the point and invented something. It’s not what Marilyn Smith said in the TikTok. I watched/listened to it and transcribed:

0:16 Now why do we do this, well, we eat a lot of fiber so we have gas—everybody does—and uh…yeah, you fart when you walk, so that’s why I named it that.

But the main reason that we do the fartwalks is because, uh, by walking for as little as two minutes (we usually walk for about ten, fifteen, twenty, but not really quickly, it’s more of a moderate walk), um, we are helping reduce our chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Why? Well, because walking is helping maintain our blood sugars, keeping them from ricocheting all around. And as you age, especially after forty, you have a bigger chance of developing type 2 diabetes.

Here’s a NYT article (gift link) that talks about a short walk after meals helping to reduce blood sugar levels:

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Outside is definitely better.

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Yes, this.

And walking faster is associated with lower risk of diabetes,
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/58/6/334
so clearly if you’re jet propelled while walking you lower the risk. And if you’re walking backwards, it’s resistance work.

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Yeah, but then you’re walking right into the farts!

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[citation needed]

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Impetus to travel briskly.

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Also called “cropdusting.”

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If you have IBS, walking after eating could result in the less desirable “shartwalking”.

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The good ol’ postprandial constitutional.

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If you’re doing it with a similarly afflicted partner, is it called “shart cuterie”? :smiley:

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Ummm, diabetes can cause gastroparesis, that’s true enough, but I read this as suggesting that not farting can cause diabetes? No, no it does not.

susto coca GIF by Luccas Neto
For all who ninja’d me.

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That seemed like a lot of hot air.

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I thought GLP-1 type drugs fight type 2 diabetes (their on-label use) partially by slowing emptying of the stomach, to stimulate insulin production? Or is that just a special case versus normally wanting to empty the stomach?

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Well, I’m farting right now.

Captain Planet Hero GIF by Droplet Adaptogen Drinks

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Im Out Blast Off GIF by Gabby

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I’m… not actually that good at multitasking, really.

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